Knowledge and Perceptions about Cervical Cancer and HPV Screening in Women in Rural Areas of Ecuador: A Qualitative Research Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
3.1. Cervical Cancer
Q1-FG2: I went to the doctor, over there, where they treat women, …. The one from humanitarian help…, there they made me a Pap Smear, and they told me that it was no good, ….. I left devastated from there, the doctor told me “I take the uterus out”. I knew that I was going to die.
Q2-FG1: a lady from Loja….with a lot of experience, who taught me how to heal, … She used to tell me, well she didn’t say cancer, she said “it’s getting rotten;” she used to say “chango” “chango”, the uterus is already going “chango” like “pudrid”.
Q3-FG2: There are women that, as my mate says, their uterus is about to come out; it turns like a little lemon, a little head already coming out, but my mum usually says that when it is like this, “dear, never leave it like that when you have patients like this; you quickly take the matrix to the inside and make a poultice”.
Q4-FG3: Another factor is improperly cured infections, urinary tract infections… I’ve heard about not treating the infections on time and delay it due to fear or embarrassment; it generates complications that can change things in time.
Q5-FG2: About sexual relations, about the first relation, very young girls… more risk….. There’s also sexual relations with several people.
Q6-FG1: ……Well, contraceptive pills can also cause cancer, … I’ve also heard that it can be hereditary.
3.2. Human Papilloma Virus
Q7-FG4: They told me that it was Human Papilloma… That it was transmitted sexually, that when there are infections, let’s say it was like syphilis or gonorrhea.
Q-FG7: At school, those who come with the vaccines from the Health Center sent us the authorization for Human Papilloma, they say that it is to avoid infections transmitted by men to women.
3.3. Pap Smear Test
Q9-FG5: When I did the Pap, I felt pain when they introduced that thing there, not only that… they put it in and say push, push… it’s rough, they tell us to take off our clothes, it looks nasty to me… there’s bleeding sometimes too.
Q10-FG3: I have the experience about Paps being performed and there’s always been interns and it’s the people that see you… you’re embarrassed as a woman in this sense, then it’d be something good, ideal, hey, not being exposed so that everyone sees you. The students must learn through the practice and everything, of course; but it’s in fact uncomfortable for a woman.
Q11-FG6: Sometimes there’s no chance that they see me for the control, only the days when the doctors come they see us, but we feel embarrassed, it’s traumatic… another thing is that they don’t give us the results, as they only come here one day then we don’t know if we’re OK or not.
3.4. Diagnostic Tests for HPV: Self-Sampling and Urine Tests
Q12-FG7: They tell me that it’s fast, and that my privacy is respected, all the best… But the sample might not be safe, the hygiene care measures, it can get infected, contaminated… the sample might not be taken as it should.
Q13-FG4: I’m afraid that the sample is not taken as it should, like my mate says, that they fail to see I’m not OK.
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Cervical Cancer |
What do you know about cervical cancer? |
Do you know the causes of cervical cancer? |
Do you know the symptoms of cervical cancer? |
Papilloma Virus |
What do you know about the papilloma virus? |
Do you know how the papilloma virus is transmitted? |
Cervical Cancer Diagnosis |
What do you know about the Pap smear test? |
Have you ever undergone a Pap smear test? |
Which is your experience with the Pap smear test? |
New Diagnostic Tests for the Papilloma Virus |
What do you know about the urine and self-sampling test for the papilloma virus diagnosis? |
What do you think about these tests? |
Have you undergone any of these tests? |
Topics | Subtopics |
---|---|
Cervical cancer | General perceptions Causes of cervical cancer |
Papilloma virus (HPV) | General knowledge Forms of infection |
Pap smear test | Experiences about Pap smear test sampling |
New diagnostic tests for HPV | Ideas about the new diagnostic tests |
Characteristic | N (%) |
---|---|
Age (years old) | |
<30 | 5 (10.9) |
30–39 | 20 (43.5) |
40–49 | 10 (21.7) |
50–59 | 7 (15.2) |
>59 | 4 (8.70) |
Ethnic group | |
Mixed race | 46 (100) |
Schooling | |
Illiterate | 1 (2.2) |
Elementary School | 11 (23.9) |
High School | 30 (64.7) |
Higher Education | 4 (8.7) |
Identification Code | Date | Locus | Number of Participants |
---|---|---|---|
FG1 * | 12 March 2021 | Cuenca | 9 |
FG2 | 18 March 2021 | Cuenca | 4 |
FG3 | 9 April 2021 | Cuenca | 4 |
FG4 | 12 April 2021 | Cuenca | 3 |
FG5 | 24 April 2021 | Cuenca | 6 |
FG6 | 2 May 2021 | Cuenca | 7 |
FG7 | 22 May 2021 | Cuenca | 4 |
FG8 | 11 May 2021 | Cuenca | 9 |
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Share and Cite
Bautista-Valarezo, E.; Vega Crespo, B.; Maldonado-Rengel, R.; Espinosa, M.E.; Neira, V.A.; Verhoeven, V. Knowledge and Perceptions about Cervical Cancer and HPV Screening in Women in Rural Areas of Ecuador: A Qualitative Research Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 11053. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711053
Bautista-Valarezo E, Vega Crespo B, Maldonado-Rengel R, Espinosa ME, Neira VA, Verhoeven V. Knowledge and Perceptions about Cervical Cancer and HPV Screening in Women in Rural Areas of Ecuador: A Qualitative Research Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(17):11053. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711053
Chicago/Turabian StyleBautista-Valarezo, Estefanía, Bernardo Vega Crespo, Ruth Maldonado-Rengel, María Elena Espinosa, Vivian Alejandra Neira, and Veronique Verhoeven. 2022. "Knowledge and Perceptions about Cervical Cancer and HPV Screening in Women in Rural Areas of Ecuador: A Qualitative Research Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 17: 11053. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711053